


Heart, Are You Okay?

by flippednique



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: #DetroitAU, Any of my fellow COIsters reading this please sound off in the comments!, COI is Confessions on Ice, College AU, I actually have this plotted to the end OMG, M/M, More serious tags to be added later, Originally up in COI, Phichit is a Photography Major, Seung is a Language Major, SeungChuChu Finally!, They call each other Chit and Seung when the time comes, isn't that cute, kinda slow burn?, they get together eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-06 10:22:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11598642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flippednique/pseuds/flippednique
Summary: Set in Detroit where Phichit is a photography major who meets Seung-gil in a cat cafe for the first time as he's being told off for swearing in a place where children could hear. This is a story about how they fall in love, what happens after they finally admit it and then of course there's Phichit constantly asking his heart if it's still okay.Answer: No it's not.There will be good times and there will be bad. As per COI's reactions: This is a rollercoaster rideCompared to 'Our Love', I would just like to say that I cried while writing one of the scenes for this fic while for 'Our Love' not a single tear was shed and that fic made it to the Angst-ViktuuriRecList.





	1. Almavivo

Phichit found an awfully guilty sensation creep into the back of his mind as he cautiously entered the premises of an upstanding cat café, a cat café that his best friend forever _(appropriate since college felt like it was taking forever)_ worked at. In all honesty, he had a feeling his babies were gnawing on pellets at home, plotting his demise in their cage, ready to pounce the moment he got back. This. This was a traitorous thing to do. He should not be going places and loving other pets when he had three perfectly adorable chitters at home. No, no, no. 

But Yuuri had sent him an awfully vague SOS message followed by a long string of crying emojis and since this was Yuuri they were talking about, Yuuri who did not use emojis on a regular basis, well Phichit knew he had to come over.

With what was probably the flutter of a hundred fifty butterflies in his stomach, or maybe that was his breakfast attempting to claw its way back out (note to self: stay away from the fruit bars), Phichit entered the café and bolted straight for the register where his best friend was in the center of all that madness. Yuuri was in the process of creating colorful drinks one right after the other, looking as if he didn’t have a care in the world. But Phichit knew better, especially after he’d gotten that incredibly distressed text message that had all but summoned him here.

Yuuri smiled at him sadly as he approached, finishing up the drink he was working on before reaching over the counter for a hug that Phichit returned whole heartedly. The assurance is immediate, a soft whisper of, “We’ll think of something.”

“I know we will.” The return is just as automatic. “Go grab a seat, my break should start soon. I’ll come find you.”

Yuuri let go first, having to keep up an image where he worked, then punched something in, handing the receipt to Phichit who accepted the free drink and then stood in line to wait for it.

There’s a lone cat walking on the café floor like it owned the place and Phichit snapped a couple of photos, grinning to himself. The collar meant she wasn’t actually a cat of the café but… were they allowed to bring cats here? As if the universe was responding to Phichit’s curiosity, the cat was being picked up by a blond who couldn’t be any older than eighteen. Well, perhaps this was a popular hang out for college students like himself.

Phichit loved aesthetic places, really.  He was twenty-three years old, just a year away from getting his degree and he could finally, finally, start going places. And it looked like the first place he was going to was the floor as one of the darling kittens made its way around his legs in quick figure eights.

“Fu-!!" Phichit couldn’t have stopped the word from flying out his mouth if not for the jarring experiencing of being caught midfall into someone’s arms. Someone he did not know.

“You do realize that kids go here, right?” The arms ask him, or rather; whoever it was that owned said arms and the chest that Phichit had his back against. 

“I’m so sorry.” The Thai straightened himself, running a hand through his hair nervously because yes, he did realize that he’d just used the dreaded F world in a café full of people, some of which were children. He hoped no one picked it up from him.

The man that stood before him had to be Asian, Phichit knew there had been an accent in that question that had all been whispered in his ear.

“One Almavivo!” Yuuri’s voice called out, effectively shocking Phichit’s soul out of his body.

The stranger gave him one more look, as if to see if he was all right then reached an arm past him. Phichit felt a little trapped in between the counter and the man who couldn’t be any more older than he was, his eyes widened in surprise. The other man pulled his hand back, to-go cup in his hand with a fizzy-loopy straw. The drink was a shocking myriad of colors, that had to be the whole dang rainbow. 

Phichit made a mental note to never order an Almavivo. It looked like it could give him diabetes with one sip. Or maybe… he could order it once for Instagram’s sake. It would make a beautiful photo. He has to step back when the guy walked past him and out of the shop, snapping a photo of the cat that had nearly caused Phichit’s demise.

Phichit watched as the stranger escaped through the café doors and out into the rain. _'Why would you order a cold drink on such a cold day?’_  Perhaps he was doing an incredible impersonation of a statue until Yuuri made his way to his side and waved a hand in front of him. “Phichit-kun?”

“Yuuri, who was that?”

“Huh?”

“That guy.” Phichit placed desperate hands on his best friend’s shoulders. “He looked so… He ordered this really weird drink, lots of colors? Kind of like a parrot, or a feather duster, or a really weird rainbow.”

“You mean an Almavivo?”

“Is that what you call it?” Phichit mumbled, gaze still on the windows. The stranger had taken a left, Almavivo-guy.

“Uh… Phichit-kun, can we talk about my problem now?” 

Problem? Oh right.

Phichit focused on his best friend, wrapped an arm around his shoulders and steered him to an empty table. This was what brought him to the café in the first place. He’d think of Almavivo-guy later. 

Later turned out to be almost an entire week after their first meeting. There was just no way he was able to sneak a stranger into his thoughts while he was also thinking of a way to help Yuuri out of his sudden financial slump _(“I don’t want to make Outo-san and Okaa-san worry, Phichit-kun. It’s not their fault that the onsen isn’t getting as much these days, and they already do so much for me. There’s got to be another way to earn money while I study.”)._

Phichit, bless him, had never had any problems financially. Not with the scholarship he had from his country, courtesy of his uncle who had a position in office (he would not throw away all the blessings he had, thank you very much). Unfortunately, that meant he had no idea how to help Yuuri, the most he could suggest was take more shifts.

Yuuri worked at a café owned by Christophe Giacometti. He and Phichit were IG buddies so Phichit knew that Chris was doing what he could to help Yuuri out. Free meals and stuff like that, but Chris could only do so much. Since Yuuri was a business major, he had a lot of things to consider. Like starting his own product, a requirement for him to earn his degree. Where would he get the capital?

Phichit’s most unhelpful suggestion yet was to start selling organs. _'_ _Don’t livers grow though? And do we really need both kidneys? What about blood? Can we sell blood? Geez, I sound like a desperate fan whose favorite band is coming for an impromptu concert.'_

Yuuri had shoved him off the sofa for that then run away to hide in bed. Phichit had tried to make dinner that evening which meant they ended up eating Chinese take-out and watching re-runs of Haikyuu season two.

Not to say that they’ve found a solution per say. Phichit sighed into his arms the moment he’s fallen into his seat and slumped against the table. He wasn’t sure if Yuuri signing up for a strip club was a safe idea. His best friend was, despite said best friend’s lack of self-confidence, was very good looking and a club was not where you put good looking people at. Wait… Phichit sighed again. Yuuri did not belong in a club.

Of course the club’s manager, who ran all right branches of Sachi Hoe Co., thought otherwise ( _“Did you see the way he worked around that pole? He can keep his pants on at the very least, but my club needs a dancer like him. And he’s pretty to boot. This will be easy money.”)._

“Easy money, huh.” Phichit whispered. He wished his friend didn’t have to go to that extent just to… to survive. But some things just happened to people, even if they were good. Sigh.

“That’s the third time you’ve sighed at this table. Are you low-key asking me to move?”

The voice startled Phichit, but he remains as he is, head buried into the arms he had crossed on top of the table.

“If your silence means ‘yes’, I’m going to remind you that I was at this table first.”

Phichit sat up properly, wondering what he should say when his mouth decided to cut off the filter it had between it and his brain. “Almavivo guy.”

Almavivo-guy cocked a very, very fine and shapely eyebrow (wow). “Do you always refer to people by their coffee orders? You don’t have a drink, what am I supposed to call you?"

“What?” Phichit blurted out, he should seriously stop staring at those brows. “Oh. Uh, I’m sorry. I’m… I’m not entirely myself today. I’m sorry for sitting at your table and uh, did you say something?”

“No.”

“Oh.” Phichit pulled his bottom lip in, worrying over it with his teeth. While he was quite a talkative person, Phichit didn’t like forcing himself onto people. Now he had no idea what to say to someone who said ‘ _no_ ’ like it was a death sentence.

Maybe it was because he had a lot on his mind, Phichit switched from English to Thai in order to vent out his frustrations. “ **You could at least accept my apology**.”

“I can understand you.”

Shit. Phichit had the decency to look guilty. “You speak Thai? I thought you were, I mean. You look Korean, or something.”

“I’m a language major, but yes I am Korean.”  

“Oh.” If you’d placed a thermometer by Phichit’s cheeks, it would have probably exploded from how hot his embarrassment was making them. “Right… um, I’m sorry for speaking in another language, especially since I thought you wouldn’t be able to understand what I was saying. I did apologize though, you could, maybe accept it? Also, I’m sorry about speaking in Thai. It’s a reflex. And um, again, sorry for sitting here. I really didn’t notice that the table was occupied."

“You apologize too much, I wasn’t even bothered that you sat here.”  

“I still apologized.” Phichit insisted, his cheeks puffing up a little in indignation. “When someone apologizes you accept it.”

“Even when the other person’s done nothing wrong?”

Phichit floundered in silence, biting on his bottom lip to avoid apologizing yet again. There was an awkward silence for a few minutes before he managed to steel his nerves. There was logic in what the other man was saying, so maybe… he shouldn’t have apologized? But he had done something wrong, right? Ugh. _‘What’s wrong with you Phichit Chulanont? Aren’t you a social butterfly? Shouldn’t you have more gumption than this? Say something! This conversation is dying!’_

“What’s your name?” _Brilliant!_  Phichit smiled, partly because he finally thought of something to say, but also because he wanted to put the other man at ease. He extended a hand, “I’m Phichit.”

“Seung-gil Lee.” 

The handshake was quick. 

“Seung-gil,” Phichit tested out. “Do you spend a lot of time here? It’s a pretty nice place, don’t you think?”

“I come by once in a while.” Seung-gil’s attention is on one of the cats that made it to their table, fluffy tail swishing back and forth. He pulled out his phone, it had a dog keychain _(‘Is he a dog person? What’s he doing at a cat café then?’)._

Phichit watched with a critical eye, a habit he got from spending so much time looking through the lens of a camera. The cat’s full fluffyness wasn’t properly projected in the photo that Seung-gil took. His inner perfectionist screamed in outrage. He pulled out his own phone, going through his various applications and said, “That was a good picture, but we can make it better. Would you like me to help? I’m a photography major.”

“No.” The answer was sharp and quick, given without second thought. To accompany it, Seung-gil stood up just as the barista (not Yuuri) shouted out, “Almavivo to-go!" 

Phichit watched as Seung-gil walked up to the counter to pick up his drink, the same drink he ordered the other day. Maybe it was a favorite. Maybe Phichit should try it. 

 _‘He’s gonna come back, right?’_ Phichit wondered as he looked up from his phone, which he wasn’t sure why he was browsing. When he did, he caught the back of Seung-gil’s head as the rest of him made its way out of the café and into the street.

That’s the second time he’s left without saying goodbye.

And why would he?

Phichit continued to go through his phone, wondering why it bothered him.

Seung-gil Lee was someone he wasn’t _ever_ going to see again anyways.

Might as well do his homework now that he’s got this table all to himself. He missed half the lecture because of how distracting Professor Feltsman’s TA had been. Viktor Nikiforov, Phichit thought grimly. There was someone he didn’t want to cross. There had been too much faked joy there, at least in Seung-gil’s eyes he’d seen something _honest_. 

 

 

 


	2. Pretty

Phichit started searching for Seung-gil Lee for reasons he himself could not explain even if he’d been held at gunpoint. There had just been something incredibly… sad about the other man’s eyes. 

He knew a lot of people who weren’t really expressive with their whole faces. As a photographer, he’s seen models deliver poses with absolute resting-bitch-faces that made them seem unapproachable, ethereal, beautiful on levels where they could no longer be reached. Phichit had directed them, pulling the inspiration from his own experience as he watched behind the camera where they transformed a blank face to one that told a hundred words. 

The photos where the models could use their eyes to speak to the audience, Phichit considered those the best parts of his portfolio. He could stare at them all day. 

Seung-gil’s eyes… had been so intense, but quiet and, well lonely. It was almost like a challenge, and Phichit honestly loved good challenges. Making Seung-gil smile shouldn’t be too hard.

‘If only I could find him.’ 

“Why hasn’t he been by?” Phichit had nearly whined as he all but draped himself over the counter. 

Leo decidedly wiped around his friend with a soapy dish towel as it was nearly closing time. “He comes around when you aren’t here.”  

_I feel like a stalker._   Phichit thought in distress as he tried to discretely look around to see if maybe Seung-Gil was hiding somewhere. Perhaps even under a pile of kittens. 

“I’ve been coming almost every day.” Phichit said. “You’d think I would have bumped into him at some point.”

“Timing’s just not your thing, _amigo_.” Leo switched towels and began to dry the counter. “And here I thought you’ve been visiting so often to see maybe me or Yuuri. Nope. You’re on the hunt.”

 “I am  **not** on the hunt. You’ve seen him with your own eyes! We’re much too different to get along in that way.” Phichit said exasperated, but he stayed where he was. He was starting to miss his best friend. Not to say that Leo wasn’t a very good friend to him too. 

Leo was younger than him by a year and he was a music major. Whenever the school had a big event, they often had to work together when it came to documentation before, during, and after the event. They’ve also been responsible for some of the most successful runway shoots the department of Fashion has had in the last two years. 

Then there was Leo’s boyfriend, Guang-Hong who was easily Phichit’s other best friend. If Yuuri was indisposed (which he currently was, given how invested he was in his new life as a pole dancer at Sachi Hoe Co.) then Guang-Hong was the next person Phichit would run to, and by default Leo. 

Guang-Hong was younger than them both and was actually a major in marketing. He was the more… adult of the three, since he was following what his family wanted and needed for him to be but not what he actually wanted to become. He had the rebellious stubbornness of an angry panda and managed to take the time to live out his passions despite the tight leash his parents had around his neck. They always said that it’s the cute ones you gotta watch out for. It was great now that Leo was there to tame Guang-Hong's wild ways, otherwise, Phichit wasn’t sure where his Chinese red panda would be. 

When he thought of a person like Seung-gil, he was definitely not Phichit’s type. He wanted someone he could see the world with, he wanted someone he could talk to. Seung-gil was a challenge to him, just that. He was… interesting. That’s the most he could say about Seung-gil. It would be very depressing for Phichit if he had to constantly fight to keep conversations alive, he wanted someone everything could feel  _natural_ with. With Seung-gil… well, maybe he  _has_ only spoken to the Korean once. The interest was just purely in the idea of making him smile though, and maybe the curiosity behind those sad eyes. 

They were really beautiful despite how dulled out they were by an emotion so deeply rooted it made Phichit’s heart hurt. A dark grey, kinda like his own, framed by long and thick lashes and eyebrows of perfection. 

“There’s this famous saying.” Leo cut in, breaking Phichit’s train of thought. " _‘Opposites attract.’_ ” 

“Are we still on this?” Phichit asked. “I told you I’m not on the hunt.” 

“I don’t know Phichit, you’re not usually this invested in someone you’ve only met once.” Leo shrugged his shoulders. “I mean, look at me and Guang. That hadn’t really been love-at-first-sight, but more of an opposites-attract kind of thing.” 

“You and Guang-Hong are not opposites.” Phichit searched his brain for the right word. “You’re… You’re complements! Yeah, that’s what you are.” 

“Complements.” Leo echoed, one eyebrow arched. “Is this math?"

“Do not sass me, Leo de la Iglesia.” Phichit snapped his fingers. “I’m just saying that you complement each other, well, a lot. Not a lot of people know how wild Guang can get since he has to be this prim and proper, exemplary  _genius_  all the time. And you’re always on this chill vibe that’s so very… chill, and you can keep up with him when he goes crazy.” 

“ _‘So very chill’_ , right.” Leo grinned. “You suck at explaining things.”

“Oh go ahead, my feelings aren’t hurt enough as they are. Keep telling me about how I’m not William fucking Shakespeare."

“You have a serious problem with swearing.”

Phichit bolted up from his slumped position and nearly collided into Seung-gil, who was standing behind him. His stool tipped back a little too far and there were a flurry of desperate grabby hand motions before Phichit found himself on the floor, back aching with the pain of a thousand kicks. 

“Ow.”  

Seung-gil was looking down at him, no hints of a smile anywhere on the Korean’s face. “You going to lie there all night?”

“No…” Phichit pulled himself up with Leo’s help, wincing as he sat back down on his stool. To his shock, Seung-gil placed a hand to his back, pressing on the tender parts as if he could massage the pain away. 

“Don’t think anything’s broken.” He declared after some gentle prodding. 

“Oh my god, how could you possibly know that?” Phichit’s head was reeling just a bit. "I thought you were a linguist?”

“I am. I just spend a lot of my time at hospitals so I know a thing or two.”

“Oh, okay. Sorry.” 

Seung-gil gave him a look. “You’re apologizing again. For no reason. And now you’re going to apologize for apologizing for no reason.”

Phichit shot him a coy smile. “Sorry?”

Seung-gil gave him a dull look then turned to Leo. “An Almavivo, please.”

“Coming right up.” Leo left them with a slightly amused smile that made Phichit want to throw the nearest cat at him, but he loved animals and he was not a violent person. 

“You like that drink a lot, huh?” Phichit asked, in the hopes of keeping the conversation alive. 

“It’s good.” 

“What’s so special about it?” Phichit wondered. 

“It’s fruity.”

“Fruity?” Phichit echoed with a small laugh. “I didn’t peg you as the fruity kind of guy.”

“That’s because you don’t know me.”

“No,” Phichit agreed. “But I’d like to.” 

Seung-gil gave him an odd look with a stare so intense Phichit felt his cheeks burn. A cat, a different one from the last time he and Seung-gil talked, hopped up onto the bar with a grace and poise Phichit would not be able to emulate in a thousand years. Seung-gil took a photo of this one too before reaching a hand out to pet it. 

“They like you.” Phichit noted. 

“And you sound so surprised because?” 

“Well,” Phichit cleared his throat. “It’s not like you’re here often enough for them to get to know or something. So I was just surprised, is all.” 

“And how would you know that I’m not by often?” Seung-gil asked. 

“I’ve become somewhat of a regular.” Phichit said. “It’s a nice place and I like to watch the people that come.”

“That sounds mildly stalker-ish.” Seung-gil raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you stalking me?”

“What?” Phichit’s voice spiked an octave. “Of course not! I’m a photographer, it is literally my job to watch people and snap photos. Sometimes I do it out of habit, you learn about people better that way. Words can be so easily said and not meant. Besides, I have better things to do than wait around for you, you know?”

“No.” Seung-gil deadpanned. “I wouldn’t know.” 

Leo popped up in between them, Almavivo in hand. “Here you go, Seung.” 

“Thanks.” He accepted it, pulling out a few bills then handing them over. 

Phichit watched this, forehead wrinkled slightly as he waited for Seung-gil to yet again walk out the cafe doors without making much progress on the ‘ _make Seung-gil smile!’_ front of his agenda, going so far as to coming off as stalker-ish to the other man  _just great_ , when the Korean surprised him by popping the straw into the cup and sliding it towards Phichit on the counter.

“Try it.” 

The Almavivo was still the same rainbow-y color that screamed the syrup of a thousand sugars. Phichit hesitated, holding the straw in between his fingers. “This is  _your_ drink.”

“I know.” 

“And you’re letting me try it, why?”

“I know your type.” Seung-gil said without hesitation. “You’re  _curious_  about this drink, maybe you like it because it looks  _pretty_. That’s what a lot of people think these days, pretty is enough. But pretty is for temporary things. Now I don’t want you to buy an Almavivo just to throw it away when you’ve gotten a taste and a good long look.” 

Phichit tensed at the sudden onslaught of words. “A-Are we still talking about the drink?”

Seung-gil arched a fine eyebrow at him. “What else would we be talking about?” 

_You._

Phichit took no more prompting and pulled the straw to his lips. The Almavivo is cold but it’s not sickeningly sweet like he thought it would be. He mulled over the taste for a second before meeting Seung-gil’s eyes. “It’s good.” 

“Satisfied?” Seung-gil asked. 

Phichit wondered at what that was supposed to mean. “I guess?” 

“Good.” Seung-gil took the drink back, grabbed another straw then made his way out the door. 

Phichit is left staring after him without a goodbye for the second time. 

_Pretty is for temporary things. I know that there’s more to you than just a pretty face._

**Author's Note:**

> I think it's about time I added to this ship. Phichit Chulanont is my son, let us love him. I know that I have a bazillion stories still open but I can assure you that HAYO (Heart, Are You Okay?) will probably be finished in much faster time than the others. I actually have this one written to the very end, I just need to flesh out the details, that is, if it's worth continuing.
> 
> I'm looking at 2k words for every chapter while keeping a regular update schedule. Of course, knowing me, when inspiration strikes we could be getting chapters by the hour or chapters by the day. 
> 
> What do you think? Yay or Nay? 
> 
> Bold used in dialogue indicates the use of another language. Other characters will feature in the background, their relationships will also occasionally pop up but the focus of this story is SeungChuchu.


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